Fifteen
by Greyy-Eyess
Summary: There was fifteen steps in store for Bea. Just fifteen steps forward. Yet, fifteen steps through Bea's eyes seemed more like fifteen years. One-shot.


Bea sighed, and took a step forward. Every step seemed like a challenge, now. Ever since _it_ happened…Bea shuddered.

She took a step. Now it was two steps. So far, so good. She sighed and tried to steady herself. She shouldn't be so shaken. She was just visiting Milo and Oscar, no big deal.

Another step, three steps. She remembered when she had first met them, and it made her smile. It was the first day of seventh grade….

**Bea rubbed her arm nervously. It was her first day in this pet store, therefore meaning a new school. She made her way in, and saw a teacher who looked a little skittish up at the chalkboard. "Um…hi. I'm Bea…" she began. "Goldfishburg?" he asked, glancing up at her. Bea nodded. "That's me!"**

**The teacher looked around for an open seat, narrowing his eyes until they were mere slits. He sighed. "I never thought this day would come, but…you sit next to those two." He gestured to two males in the back of the room. One of them was a blueish green color and short. He seemed to be having a lot of fun making farting noises with his hands. The other one was taller, and was a smoky brown color(with a green middle). He had braces(which Bea though was adorable), and…well, to put it right, an afro. The taller fish waved, and she waved back. **

**Bea swam up, and sat down in the seat between them. She folded her arms hesitantly on the desk, trying to pay attention to the teacher. Yet, it was hard to do such a thing when a certain blue fish was drumming two pencils on his desk. Bea shot him harsh glances, and he gave her the thumbs up. Yet, he would always find something even more annoying to do, if that was even possible.**

**Right when the bell rung, Bea collected her books, and made her way outside of the door as quickly as possible. Unfortunatly for her, someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned around, and saw the two fish. The taller brown fish held out his hand, and Bea shook it. The shorter fish smiled, and said, "Hey, Goldfishburg. I'm Milo, and this Oscar." He said. Bea crossed her arms. "Don't call me by my last name. My first name is Beatrice, but please, don't call me that. Call me Bea. Also, are you guys best friends or something?" she asked. "Nope, we're brothers." Oscar spoke. **

**Bea was taken aback. They were so different…!**

**Milo handed her a note. "Text us when you can. Those are our numbers." Bea blinked slowly. There was something about these boys that made her feel special…**

Bea skipped over some pebbles for the next three steps. _One, two, three…_Now she had walked five steps. She put her hands in her pockets, and swayed a bit on her feet. She felt a chilly wind bite through her jacket, and she shivered. Nowadays, she wondered why she had held such a grudge against Milo. A couple of weeks after he had introduced himself, she had decided to avoid him, but possibly become friends with his brother. It turned out that Bea DID become friends with Oscar, and they would hang out daily. And…to put it bluntly…Oscar was Bea's first love. She closed her eyelids halfway, and smiled, sighing when the image of Oscar flashed through her mind. She laughed when she realized that this would be a moment when Milo would say something like "_Bea, you realize you're being completely spacey right now…" _If only Milo knew why Bea was being spacey like that.

Bea sighed, and took another step. She had walked a total of six steps. Though Bea had walked a lot farther than this before, she felt completely ready to turn around and go home. But, to tell the truth, it would take more than six steps to go home. She had taken a car for most of the ride, and it was waiting for her only six steps back. Bea turned her head, expecting to see her mother looking irritated that she was taking so long. But it didn't surprise her that her mother was shooting her sympathetic glances. She had been receiving a lot of sympathetic glances, lately. She rubbed her arm, feeling a little guilty that she had felt sorry for Oscar…and that sympathy overtook her.

**Oscar and Milo swam up to Bea, and she waved. Milo seemed to be looking over Bea's head at someone else. She didn't even have to look to know it was Finberly. She laughed a little to herself—Milo was being a love struck idiot ever since she introduced them two.**

**Oscar had a wild glint in his eyes, and Bea could tell something was wrong. "Oscar…? What's wrong?" she asked. "Well, I…" he began, but was interrupted as a clam with a pink ponytail leaped on him. "Hello, Oscaaaarrr!" she greeted with a giggle. "Hello, Clamantha…" Oscar groaned helplessly.**

**Bea opened her mouth into an 'o' shape. Of course. Oscar was trying to get away from Clamantha, they psychopath who was obsessed with him. And Milo tagged along, as always. Oscar's personal golden retriever.**

**Clamantha didn't get off of Oscar as she gained a dreamy expression. "So, Oscar…what time should you pick me up?" she asked him. "5:00? 6:00? Anytime works…for me…" Now she had her lips puckered, and frightfully near Oscar's lips.**

**Oscar managed to push her off. Not wanting to hurt Clamantha's feelings, he said, "But I can't go on a date with you tonight. I-I have plans." Clamantha's smile wasn't wiped off her face. "And what plans would those be?"**

**Oscar tried to jab his elbow into Milo's wrist, signaling for some help, but all his elbow touched was clear water. He looked up, and saw Milo ditching him and Bea to talk to Finberly. He was leaning against the lockers, and obviously flirting. Bea saw Finberly giggle.**

**Bea felt a sudden wave of sympathy wash over her. This had never happened to her before, but she betted it wasn't a good thing. She quickly grabbed Oscar's arm, and pulled him closer to her. And, without thinking, she pecked him on the lips. It was quick, but still a kiss. "Oscar and I have plans to go to the movies, tonight." She blurted. Bea felt Oscar's skin heat under her grip.**

**The whole hall went quiet. Even Milo turned to look. To break the silence, Milo let out a long "Awwwwww…." He winked at them. Clamantha narrowed her eyes. "I WILL get you, Oscar…" she growled, before turning and leaving.**

**The hall was still silent. Milo decided to break the silence and make the hallways noisy again by talking to Finberly some more. He turned to her and shot her a grin. "There I was, nearly every bone in my body broken, laying helpless on the ground. But, that didn't stop me. 'Go to a hospital,' Oscar said. But I didn't give up. I kept on fighting for my glory. Oh, and…" Milo continued with the story(which were all lies), and Finberly made the occasional comment, like, "Ooh, I love this part!" and "You were really brave!"**

**Milo's plan worked, everyone began to talk once again. Oscar looked at Bea. "You didn't actually mean all that, did you?" he interrogated. Bea tilted her head to once side. "Only if you want me to."**

**Oscar nodded.**

Bea took another two steps after this memory. She smiled at the memory of their first date(which turned out to be a double date with Milo and Finberly), and her first _real_ kiss. The other one was all an act. But, her first kiss was mot a memory she smiled at. It was more a memory she scowled at, yet, if she could, she would relive it all over again. It went something like this:

**Bea was sitting outside of the school, reciting the same verse over and over again. "We always love to live, but we never live to love." She kept on reciting it, even when she saw someone walk by, glancing at her with expressions that clearly said, "Idiot…" She stuck her tongue out at them.**

**She saw Milo out of the corner of her eye, and saw him sit next to her. "Whatcha doing?" he asked her cheerfully. "Reciting a verse." She replied.**

**Milo nodded. "Obviously. But why?" Bea shrugged. "I was bored."**

**All was silent for a moment, and Milo said, "Where's Oscar? You're always around him, lately." Bea was silent, then said, "He went to an after school club." Milo nodded. Bea smiled, narrowing her eyes. "Where's Finberly?" she asked him.**

**"I told her to wait for me. She's inside."**

**Bea looked at him, then laughed. "Very funny. You wouldn't ditch your girlfriend for me." She giggled, punching him playfully on the shoulder.**

**Milo didn't laugh with her. He kept a straight face.**

**Bea let her laughs dissolve. "What's the matter?" she asked him. Now it was Milo's turn to chuckle, but it was very brief, and not out of humor. "It's nothing…you just…caught me." Bea tilted her head. "What do you mean, I 'caught you?" she asked him. Milo laughed again. "Well, that's _exactly _what I'm doing. I'm ditching my girlfriend for you." Milo swept his finger across Bea's cheek, and she felt the heat rise to her face. "You're blushing…" she murmured.**

**"Now…while I'm here…why don't we kiss a little." He said. What scared Bea the most was that it was a statement, not a question. She didn't take a few seconds to collect herself before the words came tumbling out of her mouth. "No! Of course not! Oscar is my boyfriend! Not you! And you have Finberly!" Milo crossed his arms. "Come one…you and I both know that flirting with Finberly was all an act."**

**Bea couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Milo, I love you! I really, really do! With all my heart!" she yelped. "But I'm not IN love with you! You're my best friend, not anything more!"**

**Milo's eyes brightened. "But you still love me as a friend."**

**"Of course!"**

**Milo smiled. "That is still an affectionate emotion." He pointed out.**

**"Wh-whatever!" Bea growled. Milo smiled wider, and he leaned in. Before Bea could protest, Milo molded his lips against hers with a lot more force than necessary. Bea waited for him to stop. There was no way she could break out of this.**

**Milo continued to kiss her even harder, his arms clutching Bea's shoulders. Something inside Bea snapped as he did this, and she kissed him back. It was the only way to get Milo to stop.**

**Milo did stop, after a while. He looked dazed, but certainly happy. "…wow!" he exclaimed. "Bea, you're a really good kisser!"**

**"Oh, would you just shut up!" Bea snapped, kicking him. "Get away from me! I hate you!"**

**Milo smiled, and nodded. He seemed to be dancing the whole way back inside to fetch Finberly.**

Bea crossed her arms, and ran the rest of the way to her destination. She wanted to get there quickly, so she could take back those words she had said to Milo. A thick wave of guilt caused Bea to feel nauseous. Guilt for two reasons: Guilt for telling Milo she hated him, and guilt for kissing Milo back when she should have been kissing Oscar. What kind of a fish did this?

Finally, she saw a gate. It was metal, and it was squeaky. She made her way into the place, and looked around for Oscar and Milo. Wherever they were, they just HAD to be together. They were like magnets. The North and the South pole attracting to each other. So different, but liking each other, anyway.

She stumbled a bit on her feet, but smiled when she spotted the duo. She trotted up, and began to cry. The roses she held in her hand began to shake. She set each one down. "One for Oscar, and one for Milo." She murmured. The tears continued to fall as she whispered, "I am s-so sorry…"

She wiped away her tears, her cheeks now wet and her eyes red. She took a step back, and ran away. A few steps back, you would see what she was running away from. What her destination was.

Two headstones were lined up next to each other.

Milo: 1995-2010 Murdered in this world, but dancing in the next.

Oscar: 1995-2010 A light to his friends and family, dying heroically at an attempt to save his brother.


End file.
